Let us Shine On
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day six hundred and seventy-five: Quinn makes the decision it's time to tell Finn the truth before she might lose him.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 32nd cycle. Now cycle 33!_

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><p><strong>Hear that little bird twitter!<strong> _Been thinking about doing this for a couple days, then this morning decided to just go for it. If you go there, find 'gleekathon' and there I'll be. There's also a video explaining everything... Yep... ;) Check it out!_

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><p><strong>"Let Us Shine On"<br>Rachel & Quinn, Quinn/Finn  
><strong>**Sunshine Girls #33 (sequel to "Our Story in the Sun") **

It took about five or six chirps of her phone for Rachel to wake up. When she did, she looked to the clock, blinking away sleep so she could see the time… 3:46… Then the phone rang again and she hesitated, reaching for it with a clumsy hand. Her eyes found the screen, and when she read Quinn's name, she was wide awake. She sat up, answering.

"Quinn? Are you…"

"I'm sorry to wake you, I know it's late…"

"No, it's fine," Rachel shook her head. "What's wrong?" her voice rushed. "The baby…"

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that…" Quinn replied, and Rachel finally picked up on the tone woven into her whisper – she hadn't slept, and whatever was keeping her awake was enough that she needed to wake her up and talk about it.

"Quinn, what's wrong?"

"I can't do this to him anymore…" she was losing her battle with tears. "I can't keep lying to him like this, but if I tell him, then I'm going to lose him…" Rachel rubbed at her face, feeling exhaustion trying to claim her again now that she knew it wasn't anything like-threatening but still important.

"Okay, just try and calm down right now or you're going to actually go in labor that time or something." Quinn didn't respond, but she was listening. "You don't know that you'll lose him. Finn, he… He can surprise you. I get it, this is bigger, but… You have to give him a chance."

"Right… Yes, you're right, I… I'm sorry I woke you, I should…"

"Quinn, it's okay," she promised. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I will," she sounded better already. "I should try and get some sleep."

"I'll see you at school tomorrow," Rachel promised before they said their goodbyes. She sat there in her bed, holding the phone… What if she needed her again? She put the phone back, laid her head on the pillow… She saw the sun rise… She hadn't found sleep, almost like she'd traded it in to Quinn. She'd be the first to the coffee pot that morning.

It didn't take her long to realize Quinn wasn't there the next morning. She knew it had to do with how late she'd gotten to bed, had to be, but no one else knew, and she couldn't tell them. If she told them, she'd have to tell them how she knew, and one way or another it would end up on the secret, the very one Quinn was struggling to tell Finn.

He came to see her at her locker, knowing somehow she must have at least had some clue. They were nearing on Sectionals and he hadn't heard her mention it all morning. He looked at her, asking if she knew if she knew what was going on. She did know, way more than he realized, and once upon a time, maybe she would have told him. She would have told him, if only so he could become hers… But this wasn't 'once upon a time,' and Quinn mattered too much to her as a friend to jeopardize it on this. Besides, her eyes had moved off of him now… Telling him now would only be petty and pointless… painful. So she bended the truth around him.

"I went to pick her up this morning, but her mother said she hadn't slept well last night, so she was staying in, but she'll probably show up later today," she nodded.

"Was she okay? Was it the…" Finn asked, still needing more so he could relax.

"She… She's here," Rachel looked beyond his shoulder and he turned. She'd just barely seen Quinn before Finn moved to hug her, but from what she saw the extra sleep had done her good. Rachel could still see the traces of panic on her face: this was going to be the day, the moment when she told him. "I should get to class," she excused herself. Quinn caught her hand and gave it a squeeze as she moved past – thank you. Rachel gave a nod and moved along. She heard Quinn asking to talk to him in private, and that was it… Now to wait.

Both Quinn and Finn were in her next class, but neither of them showed up. She couldn't focus, imagining what could be going on with them now. She knew Finn wasn't going to jump for joy at finding out that not only was the baby not his, but it was Puck's, that Quinn had cheated on him. She imagined some guys would be thrilled to be 'unburdened,' but that wasn't going to be Finn. It would hurt him, and they knew that, but it would hurt a lot more for him to hear it from anyone but Quinn. For their sake, she hoped they could make it work. But she honestly couldn't predict how it would go.

She didn't see either of them in any other class that day, not in the halls. When Glee Club time came and they still weren't there, Rachel still held her tongue, focusing herself completely on their set list so not to waver or slip. It was harder than she could anticipate, but she got through it, hoping that their absence was a good sign.

She would call Quinn as soon as she left Glee Club. Surprisingly she would answer on the second ring. Before Rachel could ask, Quinn informed her she was back home, and then she asked her to come over. Like the night before, Rachel was gladly at her disposal, and so she went.

THE END

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><p><strong>AN: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
><strong>**In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
><strong>******always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!******


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